By: Ghada Ahmed Othman.
Department of Training and Professional Development at the University of Science and Technology held a workshop on advanced administrative secretariat targeting UST staff holding such positions. Director of training department Dr. Tawfeeq said the workshop is the first of its kind in terms of advanced scientific and practical skills targeted, describing UST secretaries as the key arm for managers and deans of faculties and department in implementing related works by keeping secrets of their offices and delivering them to required channels at the appropriate time as this helps in making the right administrative decision as to achieve the institution’s goals. He described office managers and secretaries as unknown soldiers who UST administration directed to be developed and trained.
Dr. Ihab Diab, presenter of the workshop explained at length the work of the secretariat as the tasks carried out by the secretary, who is the actual manager of his administration itself, and therefore he performs double tasks. He added that the secretary is considered an assistant for the director, organizing his activities such as meetings and other related activities, keeping confidentiality, and therefore the secretary is the organizational unit of the director general in following up printing, editing letters, examining incoming and outgoing mail, communicating, dealing with visitors, organizing meetings and preparing minutes. He referred that there are traditional and modern secretaries, indicating that the most prominent characteristics of a successful secretary are good looking, intelligence, memory power, enthusiasm, self-confidence, patience and wisdom, respect for feelings, flexibility and balance in behavior, good listening and facing challenges, in addition to accepting criticism and the ability to persuade.
Then he defined meeting as a gathering of two or more people to discuss a specific topic, and that there must be goals behind this meeting, pointing out that some people are trying to exploit some to belittle them, which creates kind of unfavorable relations between departments, while there are successful meetings achieving their set goal and managers are aware of everything. He added that any meeting without a manager is useless because the goal of meetings is to discuss a specific topic or to create new ideas and negotiate them. He concluded that for these meetings to be successful, objectives of such meetings need to be specified by preparation of agenda and schedule. It is to be noted that the four-day workshop attended by a large number of employees from various UST departments.